Interment Location | Visited | Sequence in Graves I Have Visited |
---|---|---|
Hawthorne, NY | June 13, 2014 | 10th Baseball Hall Enshrinee visited |
I find it unlikely that I will ever visit a gravesite that has more mementos left at it than the burial plot of Babe Ruth. On each of the occasions I have stopped by Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, a sea of baseballs has washed over the ground in front of the Bambino’s big monument. Other clutter has consisted of coins, cards, hats, bats, letters, pictures, beer bottles, flowers, flags, rocks, crucifixes, and a bobble head. It’s a fitting final scene for the successful sportsman that maximized the word “excess.”
Fast Facts
Born: February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland
Spouses: Helen Woodford Ruth (m. 1914-1929); Claire Merritt Hodgson Ruth (m. 1929-1948)
Primary Team: New York Yankees (1920-1934)
Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1936
Presidential Medal of Freedom: Posthumously Awarded by Donald Trump (2018)
Died: August 16, 1948 in Manhattan, New York, New York
Cause of Death: Nasopharyngeal Cancer
Age: 53
Interment: Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, New York
"Aw, everybody knows that game, the day I hit the homer off ole Charlie Root there in Wrigley Field, the day October first, the third game of that thirty-two World Series. But right now I want to settle all arguments. I didn't exactly point to any spot, like the flagpole. Anyway, I didn't mean to, I just sorta waved at the whole fence, but that was foolish enough. All I wanted to do was give that thing a ride... outta the park... anywhere."
- Babe Ruth
discussing his famous, alleged "called shot" home run with Chicago Daily News reporter John Carmichael
Ruth started off the 1922 season with a 40-day suspension for barnstorming during the offseason, in violation of rules that forbade reigning pennant-winners from participating in the practice. Even after his application for reinstatement was approved by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Ruth’s fortune did not improve much. Essentially all his offensive statistics declined during the 1922 regular season, which he followed up with a dismal performance in the World Series. Excess had caught up with the slugger, and he realized he had to make changes. “Ruth says that he has turned over a new leaf,” Sporting News Magazine printed in its November issue. “No bright lights, no race track tips, no vaudeville acts and no big meals. He intends to spend the winter months at his new home in Massachusetts, resting peacefully until Miller Huggins calls him to the spring training camp.” The magazine continued, “Ruth intends to do a lot of hard work, instead of posing before the footlights. He is over-weight and knows it. He wants to reduce his bay window before spring,” the publication said, tongue-in-cheek, “so that he can see the low curve balls that American League pitchers surely will serve around his knees next year.” The new house mentioned was “Home Plate Farm,” located at 558 Dutton Street in Sudbury. Ruth owned the property from 1922 until 1926. It remains a private residence today.
Visitors to the Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum have the opportunity to hold game-used bats that belonged to some of the sport’s biggest names. Sluggers stacked on the four wall racks include those swung by Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Dick Allen, Hank Aaron, and Derek Jeter. Not wanting to take up too much time at the station during my 2023 excursion, I decided to select just one — Babe Ruth’s R43 model. This particular club is 36 inches long and weighs 42.5 ounces. Also, please note that my friend Angelo is not standing in the on-deck circle, as is proper protocol.
On November 16, 2018, seven decades after Ruth’s passing, President Donald Trump awarded the slugger the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It was accepted at the White House by Ruth’s grandson, Tom Stevens. The medal is displayed at the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum in Baltimore.
Sources Consulted and Further Reading
Sporting News. “Babe Ruth, a ‘bust’?” November 16, 1922. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/tsn-archives-babe-ruth-%E2%80%9Cbust%E2%80%9D-nov-16-1922-issue/qtexgbmt89gkfkhrxhlyjklt.
Thorn, John. “Babe Ruth Remembers: The Called Shot.” Our Game [blog]. December 17, 2012. https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/babe-ruth-remembers-the-called-shot-4a261cb5e880.